Overview & Reviews

A relative newcomer to the American marketplace, Hyundai is a Korean automaker with a product line that has improved greatly over the past decade. Hyundai cars and SUVs provide a high level of content for an affordable price, and are currently backed by one of the industry's longest warranties.

In 1947, Chung Ju Yung founded the Hyundai Civil Engineering Company. Mere months later, the outfit was bombed in the Korean War. However, the company regained its footing to distinguish itself as one of Korea's leading construction enterprises during the 1950s.

By the late 1960s, Chung had turned his attention to the automobile industry. The Korean government at that time believed that it made more sense to import vehicles than produce them domestically, and had made its opinion known. Still, Chung opted to follow his own convictions, and in 1967, he founded the Hyundai Motor Company.

The company quickly established an alliance with one of the industry's oldest automakers, signing a two-year contract with Ford in 1968 to share assembly technology. Hyundai's first car, the Cortina, was created from that partnership. The manufacturer's first car to be designed and built in Korea was the compact Pony (although the car was based on Japanese technology courtesy of Mitsubishi). The vehicle made its debut in 1974, and the following year Hyundai began exporting it to overseas markets.

Hyundai entered the U.S. market in 1986 with the introduction of its subcompact Excel. The car was an immediate hit, with its supreme affordability being a primary selling point. More than 100,000 Excels were sold stateside in the first seven months. By 1988, Hyundai had begun to produce cars using its own technology. The midsize Sonata was the first fruit borne of this endeavor.

Unfortunately, Hyundai's nascent image was soon tarnished by the poor durability and reliability of its vehicles. Sales tanked. However, rather than abandon the American market in the '90s, Hyundai chose to invest heavily in new product designs and improvements in overall quality and reliability. In 1998, Hyundai also purchased Kia, another Korean automaker, to expand its business and economies of scale.

It all started to pay off by the start of the new millennium, with the 2001 Elantra in particular showing massive improvements in overall quality, reliability and performance. Other models followed suit and the desirability of Hyundai cars increased sharply. Providing an extraordinarily long warranty period didn't hurt either.

Today's lineup is indicative of Hyundai's complete turnaround. Hyundai has a vehicle for nearly every segment, including the economical Accent subcompact, the popular Elantra compact, the midsize Sonata sedan (also available as a hybrid), sporty Genesis and Veloster coupes and a couple of stylish SUVs. Hyundai has also expanded into the entry-level and premium-level luxury sedan markets with its Genesis and Equus sedans. Having gone from being the butt of late-night TV jokes in the 1980s to a well-respected manufacturer of quality vehicles, Hyundai has created a very inspiring rags-to-riches story.

User Reviews:

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  Point-a to Point-b @ ~32-34 MPG - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By Roger - March 23 - 12:47 am

  Unreal milage. Ive put 5,000 miles on this puppy in a few months and I average 32MPG. That is what I need when gas is expected to hit 2.50/Gal this summer. I am happy with the warranty and the low entry price.

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  Youll like this car! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jeff D - March 21 - 9:03 pm

  Ive logged over 12K miles over the first year and have no substantive complaints at all. The car has satisfied all of my expectations, and I dont consider myself easy to satisfy. Ive had no problems other than a ding on the roof from the dealer which he fixed perfectly while giving me a loaner. Mileage is running only about 22 mpg in mixed driving. You wont do better than this car for the money.

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  Santa Fe - Top Performer - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By James Clarke - March 21 - 3:43 pm

  Great car. No problems and assembly and finish are flawless. Gas mileage is poor and steering tends to be a bit heavy. Aside from this a great family and trip car.

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  01 Elantra GLS @ 18k miles - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By djbrowneyjr - March 20 - 10:00 am

  Originally I thought it was an excellent value for the amount of standard features you get plus the warranty. I have not been happy with the Shift Flare problem that the automatics are notorious for. Brought my vehicle in for checking because the transmission fluid was black and smelled burnt. Dealer flushed the system and put in new fluid. 300 miles later the fluid is turning black again. Was told by the dealer that "Hyundai transmissions get hot", that is why the fluid turns black. "Dont worry, you have a 100kmi warranty, if the transmission goes bad we will just replace it". Based on the black transmission fluid, I expect the transmission to fail.

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  Solid car - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Freon - March 20 - 10:00 am

  You wont get a nicer car for under $20k. Thats $2-3k less than a similarly optioned Celica or Eclipse V6. And its LOADS easier to drive than the anemic Celica GT-S which requires revving to at least 5000rpm just to get power. The gearing on the 6M is way too short. 3400rpm at 80mpg? Thats too high. That may be why the gas mileage is so poor (but you can fill with 87 octane, unlike premium only for the Eclipse V6 or either base or GTS Celica). The flywheel is a tad too heavy, but Im really nit-picking. I really like the action on the clutch and the shifter. The spacing is perfect. It really promotes fast and accurate shifting.

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  Great little car - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By Hrlyridr - March 15 - 2:45 pm

  I bought this used with 36,000 miles on it. Ive had it a year, and couldnt be happier with the value I got. I call it my little eBeater (got it on eBay). Handles New England winters. Llove the sunroof, room for both kids, and best of all - it was cheap enough that there was no payments.

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  Great all around - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By nhepker1 - March 13 - 8:06 pm

  Fantastic midsize sedan. Engine/Tran combo has power when you need it but still delivers great fuel economy. In mostly highway driving I can beat the rated 38. Ive routinely hit 40 mpg. With city driving you have to really try to get your trip to fall below the city 28 mpg. Comfortable. Quiet. Cant speak to reliability yet but the power train warranty helps alleviate that concern somewhat.

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  Excellent Purchase - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ed - March 12 - 6:39 am

  I purchased Car in Feb 05.I am extremely impressed with the value I recieved for the price I paid. While the car is relatively new. I cant find any flaws so far.Ride is fantastic for a car at this price level.

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  Great bang for the buck! - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By xo1rider - March 11 - 6:53 am

  I was in need of a 4 banger with good gas mileage. Id settled on the Honda Civic when I saw the ratings on the Hyundai, read the reviews and checked out the warranty. For what I paid and how it is equipped I saved several thousand dollars over the Civic. I love the fact that it comes with standard XM radio, the interior room is great and the back seat feels like a full sized Ford.

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  I like it, but... - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By viktor - March 8 - 5:06 pm

  I started leasing Sonata 1.5 month ago. I expected its going to be easy on gas, but as it turned out its not. I had owened Buick Lesabre 1989 and found that both consume gas evenly. Buick with 3.8 engine and 250,000km and Sonata with 2.7 and 3000km. I like stepping on gas but this car doesnt inspire you to put gloves on. The rest is perfect. I cant say anything about reliabilty so far. Well see. The price, the features and the look are great.